Conventional Mortgage
A mortgage requiring a substantial down payment. It is usually only available to those having good credit, and has fixed monthly payments for the life of the loan. It usually has a 30 year period of fixed interest rates discharged on an amortized basis with equal monthly payments. The term conventional refers to a mortgage that is not FHA-insured or VA-guaranteed. Since there is no third person or entity to insure or guarantee the mortgage, the lender assumes full risk of default by the borrower. A lenders decision to make a conventional mortgage is usually dependent upon: (1) the value of the property being used to secure the debt and (2) the credit and income position of the borrower. As more and more conventional mortgages have been made, the loan to value ratio (relationship between the amount borrowed and the appraised value of the property) has continued to increase, even though most lenders still limit the amount they will lend to no more than 80% of value unless private mortgage insurance is carried. This down payment required is higher than with either VA or FHA loans. As the market price of residential real estate has continued to increase, a larger cash down payment has been required of the borrower, and thus many people have been eliminated from financing with a conventional mortgage. With both guaranteed and insured mortgages, people have been able to purchase real estate with a smaller cash down payment.
Popular Real Estate Terms
The assessment sales ratio is a way of measuring the accuracy of a property’s assessed value when compared to the property’s selling price. This measurement gives the ...
Contractual provision allowing an individual or business to renege on a commitment in certain cases without being penalized. ...
A married partner. Property may be jointly held by spouses. ...
High quality, premium wood to be used in construction such as for home building. ...
If escrow is the legal “moment” where assets are held by a third party (an escrow agent) hired by both the buyer and the seller of goods like real estate and insurance until the ...
Sale that is finalized only in the case of a particular occurrence or eventuality. ...
Revocation comes from the verb "to revoke", which means to take back the validity of something. The definition of revocation is detrimental to contract law. It gives the person making the ...
Governmental body having the responsibility for planning the future development of a jurisdictional area. A planning commission is responsible for developing and managing a zoning ordinance ...
Present worth of the property which is different than the price paid for it or its book value (cost less accumulated depreciation). The current value may be determined through appraisal. ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.